Monday, July 31, 2017

Debbie Wasserman Schultz: just WTF ... by gimleteye

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, in recent years, has been a controversial figure within the Democratic Party and, formerly, a key ally of Hillary Clinton. Still, the congresswoman retains a loyal following in her Broward County district.

Now a bizarre story emerges of an untrustworthy staffer who is alleged to have committed financial crime and computer fraud. Imran Awan was employed by Wasserman Schultz although she had knowledge that he was potentially a threat to national security.

The Miami Herald and National Review reported that a Pakistani national, on Wasserman Schultz' payroll until last week, was arrested for a financial crime. Awan also had computer access to classified information in the House Intelligence Committee.

... take this to the bank: The case of Imran Awan, Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s mysterious Pakistani IT guy, is not about bank fraud. Yet bank fraud was the stated charge on which Awan was arrested at Dulles Airport this week, just as he was trying to flee the United States for Pakistan, via Qatar. ... As you let all that sink in, consider this: Awan and his family cabal of fraudsters had access for years to the e-mails and other electronic files of members of the House’s Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees. It turns out they were accessing members’ computers without their knowledge, transferring files to remote servers, and stealing computer equipment — including hard drives that Awan & Co. smashed to bits of bytes before making tracks.

The question, of course, is what else did Awan steal.

This is a big deal because Wasserman Schultz was head of the Democratic National Committee at a time when crippling security breaches were known to have occurred. These breaches, alleged to have been Russian incursions into unsecured computer servers and social media databases, may have cost Hillary Clinton the presidency.

If 2016 told American voters anything, it is that incompetence in computer security is a cardinal political offense. So what the hell is Wasserman Schultz doing, continuing to employ a computer hacker and fraudster in her own office, with access to national security information and, possibly, computer files of other government and political officials?

One has to hope that the FBI was tracking Mr. Awan's online movements, and that Wasserman Schultz was not covering for Awan -- she has publicly stated her concern for racial profiling in this case -- but instead was allowing a robust investigation to proceed.

In the meantime, while Republicans wipe their brow that for a brief minute attention swerves from President Trump, it is still the case that leading Democrats should question how much goodwill is left in the Broward congresswoman's account. And for God's sakes, lock down the computers and servers!